The present invention relates to a shoe.
Shoes consist of a sole and an upper which surrounds the foot resting on the sole. The soles of shoes often have damping means by which the load exerted on the foot or on the entire body of the runner is eased when running. Known damping means for example are air cushions or gel-filled cavities.
A sole with a plurality of damping elements is known (EP 0 695 514 A1). This sole has, in the heel area, the metatarsal area, and the ball of the foot, a plurality of holes extending in the transverse direction and intended to serve as damping cushions. These holes are given a variety of shapes and sizes and have a correspondingly hard or soft damping effect. In one embodiment, a recess is made in the sole from the rear end which is open at the sides so that the area of the sole beneath forms a plate that projects freely to the rear. Such a sole has a very soft damping characteristic in the heel area.
A sole is also known for an exercise shoe (DE 94 13 496 U1) by which running on the level is made more difficult for training purposes. This sole is cut away in the area associated with the shoe heel so that the wearer of the shoe can run essentially only in the vicinity of the balls of the feet. As a result, an effect like that obtained running uphill on a 15xc2x0 slope or when climbing stairs is achieved. A shoe of this kind that promotes running on the balls of the feet is unsuited from the health standpoint since, when running on the balls of the feet, the foot or shoe is placed on the ground with the leg extended and the impact load is transferred directly to the knee and hip joints and the spinal column.
In view of the above disadvantages and shortcomings of the shoe known from the prior art, the goal of the present invention is to provide a shoe with which the shock loads that occur when running are transmitted only to a very slight degree, if at all, to the knee and hip joints and to the spinal column.
This goal is achieved by a shoe having a sole that extends from a rear heel area through a metatarsal area to a front ball or toe area, said sole being made of a sole body and a sole covering located on the underside of the sole body and a recess that extends approximately from the metatarsal area to the heel area and is provided between the sole body and the sole covering; the area of the sole covering associated with the recess forms a pivoting element that is designed to pivot around a pivot axis that is located in the end area of the recess and facing the metatarsal area.
The shoe according to the present invention has a sole composed of a sole body and a sole covering, with a recess extending approximately from the metatarsal area to the heel area, said recess being provided between the sole body and the sole covering so that the area of the sole covering associated with the recess, when placed on a support, is pivoted away upward around a pivot axis so that the shoe is placed very softly on the support.
When the shoe is placed on the support in the vicinity of the pivot axis, it tilts around the pivot axis with the ball or toe area on the support. As a result, the foot and the lower leg are displaced slightly forward and the knee is automatically bent slightly. A leg bent at the knee accepts the impact load through the bones of the skeleton and the surrounding musculature without the impact load being transmitted to the joints or the spinal column.
The shoe according to the present invention therefore produces a rounding effect, in other words a rolling action as it is placed on the support so that the impact load exerted on the sensitive joints or on the spinal column is considerably reduced.
In the standing phase, the wearer of the shoe is also placed in a therapeutic posture, in other words a posture with the knees forced to bend at an angle so that the spinal column is also relieved of a load when standing.
Hence, the invention is based on the knowledge that in conventional shoes, despite costly and cumbersome damping elements, the impact load is transmitted directly to the joints and the spinal column since, with these shoes, the foot or the shoe can be placed on the support with the leg extended.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in the dependent claims.